An mHealth App (eSkinHealth) for Detecting and Managing Skin Diseases in Resource-Limited Settings: Mixed Methods Pilot Study.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, the disease burden from skin diseases, including skin-related neglected tropical diseases (skin NTDs), is extremely high. These diseases often are overlooked due to limited access to health care stemming from, for example, remote geographical locations and a lack of experts. To address these gaps, we developed a mobile health app, eSkinHealth, which is a field-adapted platform to serve as a portable electronic patient chart and for teledermatology.

Genome-wide association studies reveal novel loci associated with pyrethroid and organophosphate resistance in Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii.

Resistance to insecticides in Anopheles mosquitoes threatens the effectiveness of malaria control, but the genetics of resistance are only partially understood. We performed a large scale multi-country genome-wide association study of resistance to two widely used insecticides: deltamethrin and pirimiphos-methyl, using sequencing data from An. gambiae and An.

[Evolution and impact of the One Health approach in Switzerland and worldwide].

Integrated approaches to health such as One Health are needed to tackle complex problems that cannot be solved by a single discipline or country, such as climate change, biodiversity loss or antimicrobial resistance. The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), one of the international pioneers in One Health with its African partners, the Institute of Global Health at the University of Geneva, which has also adopted One Health, and other activities in Berne and Zurich, make Switzerland a hub for One Health research and development worldwide. This article summarizes the development of the One Health approach in Switzerland, and uses examples to demonstrate its added value.

Impact of dominance rank specification in dyadic interaction models.

Dominance rank is a vital descriptor of social dynamics in animal societies and regularly used in studies to explain observed interaction patterns. However, researchers can choose between different indices and standardizations, and can specify dyadic rank relations differently when studying interaction distributions. These researcher degrees of freedom potentially introduce biases into studies and reduce replicability.

Relationship between animal health and livestock farmers' wellbeing in Ghana: beyond zoonoses.

Introduction: Livestock production is a key livelihood source for many people in developing countries. Poor control of livestock diseases hamper livestock productivity, threatening farmers' wellbeing and food security. This study estimates the effect of livestock mortalities attributable to disease on the wellbeing of livestock farmers.

Phenotypic resistance to pyrethroid associated to metabolic mechanism in -L995F-resistant malaria mosquitoes.

The indiscriminate use of insecticides in agriculture and public health lead to a selection of resistance mechanisms in malaria vectors compromising vector control tools and strategies. This study investigated the metabolic response in the -L995F Tiassalé resistance strain after long-term exposure of larvae and adults to deltamethrin insecticide. -L995F Tiassalé strain larvae were exposed over 20 generations to deltamethrin (LS) and adults to PermaNet 2.

Efficacy and Safety of Moxidectin-Albendazole and Ivermectin-Albendazole Combination Therapy Compared to Albendazole Monotherapy in Adolescents and Adults Infected with Trichuris trichiura: A Randomized, Controlled Superiority Trial.

Background: The currently recommended benzimidazole monotherapy is insufficiently effective to control infection with the soil-transmitted helminth Trichuris trichiura. Ivermectin-albendazole combination has shown promising, but setting-dependent efficacy, with therapeutic underperformance in Côte d'Ivoire. We evaluated whether moxidectin-albendazole could serve as an alternative to albendazole monotherapy in Côte d'Ivoire.

High angular resolution susceptibility imaging and estimation of fiber orientation distribution functions in primate brain.

Uncovering brain-tissue microstructure including axonal characteristics is a major neuroimaging research focus. Within this scope, anisotropic properties of magnetic susceptibility in white matter have been successfully employed to estimate primary axonal trajectories using mono-tensorial models. However, anisotropic susceptibility has not yet been considered for modeling more complex fiber structures within a voxel, such as intersecting bundles, or an estimation of orientation distribution functions (ODFs).

Shared community effects and the non-genetic maternal environment shape cortisol levels in wild chimpanzees.

Mechanisms of inheritance remain poorly defined for many fitness-mediating traits, especially in long-lived animals with protracted development. Using 6,123 urinary samples from 170 wild chimpanzees, we examined the contributions of genetics, non-genetic maternal effects, and shared community effects on variation in cortisol levels, an established predictor of survival in long-lived primates. Despite evidence for consistent individual variation in cortisol levels across years, between-group effects were more influential and made an overwhelming contribution to variation in this trait.

Comprehension of own and other species' alarm calls in sooty mangabey vocal development.

Abstract: Primates understand the meaning of their own and other species' alarm calls, but little is known about how they acquire such knowledge. Here, we combined direct behavioural observations with playback experiments to investigate two key processes underlying vocal development: comprehension and usage. Especifically, we studied the development of con- and heterospecific alarm call recognition in free-ranging sooty mangabeys, , across three age groups: young juveniles (1-2y), old juveniles (3-4y) and adults (> 5y).

Floristic Diversity as an Indicator in Low and High Endemic Buruli Ulcer Areas in Côte d'Ivoire.

Unlabelled: is an environmental bacterium responsible for Buruli ulcer. This disease has a high frequency index in humid tropical regions, with a high incidence in Sub-Saharan Africa. The ecology and mode of transmission of this disease is not well established.

Improving coverage of antenatal iron and folic acid supplementation and malaria prophylaxis through targeted information and home deliveries in Côte d'Ivoire: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Coverage of antenatal iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation and malaria chemoprophylaxis remains low in many low-income and middle-income settings. We assessed the effectiveness of personal information (INFO) sessions and personal information session plus home deliveries (INFO+DELIV) to increase coverage of IFA supplementation and intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp), and their effectiveness on postpartum anaemia and malaria infection.

Methods: We included 118 clusters randomised to a control (39), INFO (39) and INFO+DELIV (40) arm, in a trial conducted between 2020 and 2021 with pregnant women (age ≥15 years) in their first or second trimester of pregnancy in Taabo, Côte d'Ivoire.

Access to vaccination services for priority ruminant livestock diseases in Ghana: Barriers and determinants of service utilization by farmers.

Introduction: Livestock diseases are a major constraint to agricultural productivity, frequently causing significant livelihood losses for farmers, and negatively affecting public food safety and security. Vaccines provide an effective and profitable means for controlling most infectious livestock diseases, but remain underutilized. This study sought to assess the barriers and determinants of vaccination utilization for priority livestock diseases in Ghana.

Environmental determinants of access to shared sanitation in informal settlements: a cross-sectional study in Abidjan and Nairobi.

Background: Universal access to basic sanitation remains a global challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Efforts are underway to improve access to sanitation in informal settlements, often through shared facilities. However, access to these facilities and their potential health gains-notably, the prevention of diarrheal diseases-may be hampered by contextual aspects related to the physical environment.

Microbiological quality and antimicrobial resistance of Bacteria species recovered from ready-to-eat food, water samples, and palm swabs of food vendors in Accra, Ghana.

This study sought to investigate microbial quality and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria species from Ready-to-Eat (RTE) food, water, and vendor palm swab samples. Between 2019 and 2020, RTE food, water and vendor palm swab samples were collected from food vending sites in Accra, Ghana. Samples were cultured and confirmed using the Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF).

Widespread occurrence of copy number variants and fixation of pyrethroid target site resistance in () from southern Côte d'Ivoire.

Resistance to pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides in the malaria vector () is conferred by a variety of genetic mutations, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and copy number variants (CNVs). Knowledge of the distribution of these mutations in mosquito populations is a prerequisite for establishing better strategies for their management. In this study, a total of 755 () from southern Côte d'Ivoire were exposed to deltamethrin or pirimiphos-methyl insecticides and were screened to assess the distribution of SNPs and CNVs known or believed to confer resistance to one or other of the insecticide classes.

Effectiveness of community-based burden estimation to achieve elimination of lymphatic filariasis: A comparative cross-sectional investigation in Côte d'Ivoire.

For lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination, endemic countries must document the burden of LF morbidity (LFM). Community-based screening (CBS) is used to collect morbidity data, but evidence demonstrating its reliability is limited. Recent pilots of CBS for LFM alongside mass drug administration (MDA) in Côte d'Ivoire suggested low LFM prevalence (2.

Species composition and insecticide resistance in malaria vectors in Ellibou, southern Côte d'Ivoire and first finding of Anopheles arabiensis in Côte d'Ivoire.

Background: Knowing the species composition and insecticide resistance status of the target vector population is important to guide malaria vector control. The aim of this study was to characterize the malaria vector population in terms of species composition, insecticide susceptibility status and potential underlying resistance mechanisms in Ellibou, southern Côte d'Ivoire.

Methods: A 1-year longitudinal entomological survey was conducted using light traps and pyrethroid spray catches to sample adult mosquitoes in combination with larval sampling.

Risks of snakebite and challenges to seeking and providing treatment for agro-pastoral communities in Tanzania.

Background: Continuous occurrence of snakebite incidences and the vulnerability of some communities remain a critical problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite causing permanent disability to almost half a million people annually and numerous deaths, snakebite and associated complications are still largely neglected. This study aimed at elucidating risk factors associated with snakebite cases, treatment availability and case management practices for vulnerable agro-pastoralist communities in Northern Tanzania.

Semi-field evaluation of the space spray efficacy of Fludora Co-Max EW against wild insecticide-resistant Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito populations from Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Background: Space spraying of insecticides is still an important means of controlling Aedes and Culex mosquitoes and arboviral diseases. This study evaluated the space spray efficacy of Fludora Co-Max EW, (water-based insecticide space spray combining flupyradifurone and transfluthrin with film forming aqueous spray technology (FFAST)), against wild insecticide-resistant Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes from Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, compared with K-Othrine EC (deltamethrin-only product), in small-scale field trials.

Methods: Wild Ae.

Small-scale field evaluation of PermaNet Dual (a long-lasting net coated with a mixture of chlorfenapyr and deltamethrin) against pyrethroid-resistant Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes from Tiassalé, Côte d'Ivoire.

Background: Due to the rapid expansion of pyrethroid-resistance in malaria vectors in Africa, Global Plan for Insecticide Resistance Management (GPIRM) has recommended the development of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), containing insecticide mixtures of active ingredients with different modes of action to mitigate resistance and improve LLIN efficacy. This good laboratory practice (GLP) study evaluated the efficacy of the chlorfenapyr and deltamethrin-coated PermaNet Dual, in comparison with the deltamethrin and synergist piperonyl butoxide (PBO)-treated PermaNet 3.0 and the deltamethrin-coated PermaNet 2.

Genome-wide association studies reveal novel loci associated with pyrethroid and organophosphate resistance in s.l.

Resistance to insecticides in mosquitoes threatens the effectiveness of the most widespread tools currently used to control malaria. The genetic underpinnings of resistance are still only partially understood, with much of the variance in resistance phenotype left unexplained. We performed a multi-country large scale genome-wide association study of resistance to two insecticides widely used in malaria control: deltamethrin and pirimiphos-methyl.